By Sam Kimball
In 2020, the United States public safety force comprised of 696,644 full-time law enforcement officers. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this number only includes officers who regularly carry a firearm and an official badge, have full powers of arrest and whose salaries are paid from federal funds set aside specifically for law enforcement. However, thousands of other officers who do not meet these criteria continue to serve their respective communities. In Marin, 16 police departments serve the population of 260,814 people, but in an ever-changing society, the role of the police officer constantly shifts.
The Police Academy and Training
According to The Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform, California law enforcement officers must complete 664 hours of basic training, exceeding the U.S. average of 652 hours. A total of 37 states, not including California, allow police to work and immerse themselves in the field before attending basic training. However, Central Marin Police Department Corporal Jeff Peterson reiterates this is an ever-changing system, and with more police activity comes more fluctuation in the requirement.
“Academy curriculum and state law has changed immensely since the events of the past couple years,” Peterson said. “Lethal force and what used to be ‘use when reasonable’ has become ‘use when necessary.’ We are trained better on de-escalation, and have attended crisis intervention training, recognizing mental health crises or other factors that may go into how a person acts.”
A 20-week police academy is currently the first step in the training process of law enforcement officers and discusses physical techniques, emergency vehicle operations and firearms. However, the major development occurs during what Marin County Sheriff Jamie Scardina calls “shadow week”: an opportunity to work in the field with more experienced officers. Throughout Scardina’s 24 years in law enforcement, he sees shadow week as the most beneficial aspect of training and the best time to reflect on the skills learned during the police academy.
“We need to make sure that [the officers] are learning what techniques, policies and procedures [they need to follow] since that’s what [tells us what to do] on a daily basis. At the end of training, we have what’s called a ‘shadow week’ where [officers are] in the car by themselves, and the training officer will shadow them around to their calls. … Whether it is a domestic violence call or a barking dog call, [officers] have policies for everything,” Scardina said.
Scardina has observed a consistent emphasis on training, recognizing the importance of his involvement.
“We train constantly. [I] just went through an eight-hour firearms training. Here I am, 24 years into my career and a sheriff, training. It is extremely important. Our role goes beyond the badge,” Scardina said.
The School Resource Officer
Since its start about two decades ago, the Tamalpais Union High School District’s (TUHSD) School Resource Officer Program has worked with neighboring police departments to assign an individual to serve as a public safety officer in their school district. Peterson served as the school resource officer (SRO) from 2019-2021 for many of the TUHSD schools, including Redwood. Peterson took on the role due to his interest in building connections with students and his educational experience as a teacher at Marin Country Day School and Town School for Boys. Since it originated, Peterson has noticed changes within the program, associating them with the constant societal shifts.
“[About two decades ago], the SRO had an office in the school, but we have since branched away from that. Now, we have 16 schools we serve in our jurisdiction so it is more of an untraditional SRO role. You are going school to school doing tons of community outreach and community policing [lessons], but also handling the crime that comes up,” Peterson said.
While the role is to ensure student safety, the District constantly grapples with parent and student input surrounding the presence of a police officer during school hours. TUHSD Superintendent Tara Taupier remembers her days at Tamalpais High School as an administrator observing the SRO involved in school activities, but acknowledges the changing conditions.
“[The SRO program] has seen an evolution. It has been paid for through a bond or parcel tax from the community, so it is funded through the police force and not the school district. Years ago [when I was the assistant principal at Tam], the officer was more integrated into the school, coming to events, but then we moved away from that. There is a lot of discussion about having a police presence on campus and what that does, but the officer is never used for discipline,” Taupier said.
The SRO, in addition to ensuring campus safety, assists with resources otherwise unavailable to the TUHSD.
“Another way [the SROs] are supportive to us is through threat assessments. Oftentimes people won’t know a threat assessment is happening, but [once it is reported], a threat assessment team is put together, and the school resource officer is often on that team,” Taupier said. “The [SRO] has the ability to do a wellness check [in case of a threat], which in this day and age is very helpful [and we don’t have access to that].”
With 113 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the U.S. this year, Peterson notes that while spending time on campus, he would try to avoid the thought of a school shooting, but it would always appear in the back of his mind.
“Every morning I would pick the campus to [patrol], and it would be terrible to think that way, but if you pay attention enough, you know that these things do happen,” Peterson said. “[A school shooting] is something that I would think about when [students] arrived at school. I thought about it every morning and I would visualize what I would do with life [in general if that were to happen].”
The Allocation of Police Funds
According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of adults now say police funding should be decreased, a decline from 25 percent in 2020. In Marin County, community members have formed organizations in support and against police presence and the terms “defund the police” and “fund the police.” Lisa Bennett, a trustee for the Sausalito-Marin City School District and founder of the nonprofit, Standing up for Racial Justice, does not associate safety with law enforcement.
“I have a view of the words ‘safety’ and ‘public safety’ as one that doesn’t involve policing,” Bennett said. “In an idyllic situation where people feel safe in their lives, have opportunities, access to education and support services, there is less of a need for policing to manage a community.”
However, another community advocate Laurie Dubin is a parent of three Redwood graduates and founder of Be the Influence, a parent education and support program that addresses substance use. Dubin appreciates the role the police play in her organization and sees opportunities to allocate more resources to police to improve safety.
“‘Defund the police’ is a horrible term. It’s very counterproductive and damaging to society. You slash police budgets and paint all police as the villains. It has resulted in more crime,” Dubin said. “I do think [police officers] need to be given more resources so they can have better community policing [practices] as a lot of what they do should not be criminal matters. There should be social workers and community services that are working alongside the police to deal with matters that are more appropriate.”
Bennett also points out the mass amounts of police violence that has swept the nation for decades, including an incident of police brutality sparking protests in September in San Rafael. In the past year alone, 1,039 people in the United States have been shot and killed by police. Bennett views this brutality as an ongoing problem, and one that needs to be understood.
“When you focus more on mental health issues and systemic oppression, you start to see the roots of what is considered criminal behavior. The outcome [of law enforcement training] is continued over policing of Black and Brown people,” Bennett said.
Taking the necessary steps to improve the functionality of Marin in her eyes, Bennett emphasizes the importance of taking action with true intent in mind.
“[Society] frowns on performative actions. You hang up a sign that says ‘Black Lives Matter’ and you think you are done. Unless you have committed to doing the work, to make yourself vulnerable, and to reconnect with your humanity, you are not going to be an effective changemaker in the community,” Bennett said.
The Impacts of Community Involvement
Every situation involving law enforcement requires collaboration, and without community trust, officers cannot do their jobs to the best of their ability. San Rafael Police Department Lieutenant Todd Berringer cites cross-collaboration as a crucial aspect of keeping the community safe. As a result, he always looks for ways to involve community partners in his work.
“[Law enforcement] knows that we can’t solve problems just by ourselves. Not only do we collaborate with [members of the area], but we are doing a lot of cross-collaboration with other departments. [The community] is vital,” Berringer said. “Our circle of safety requires trust and mutual cooperation, and if you have a breakdown of either of those components, you are not going to have a safe and vibrant community.”
Similar to Berringer, Scardina hopes to increase community involvement and truly values the input from his peers and those who see the world from a different perspective.
“Some of the best changes and decisions we have made as an organization in the last couple years have not come from me, they haven’t come from our undersheriff and they haven’t come from our captain, but they have come from our line staff and from our deputies who are on the street. The same thing [could be said] for our community. If our community would like us to do something different, we need to hear from them; what can we, the Marin County Sheriff's Office and law enforcement do differently to better serve everybody?”
